From #AdultBallet trending on TikTok to BarreCore studios springing up around the country, ballet-style training is continuing to have a moment. While most of us over the age of 18 might be sceptical about stepping into a full-on ballet class, the hybrid variation – barre – brings the best of the techniques without the pressure of donning a tutu.

The benefits of barre are relatively well-known. Like pilates, it encourages core strength, flexibility and muscular endurance. Less spoken about, however, is barre’s ability to rewire your thought patterns and boost your brain health.

Fitness can be broken down into three types of exercises: resistance, aerobic and neuromotor training. Most physical workouts usually fall between the first two categories, but neuroscientist Nicole Vignola explains that ballet and barre involve all three, which is particularly valuable for your brain.

“When you look at the brain of a ballet dancer, you’ll find that the functional connectivity in the brain’s basal ganglia is extremely developed thanks to the neuromotor training involved with the practice,” she tells Stylist. “Dancers constantly have to move their limbs asymmetrically and at different rhythms – training their gait, coordination and spatial awareness in the process.”

“Most traditional and hybrid ballet classes build up on repetition, which gives the brain time to adapt and build synapses (aka neural connections) in the brain,” Vignola adds.

“There’s also a huge memory aspect to ballet, as you have to constantly visually absorb and reproduce long sequences which boost your overall cognitive abilities.”

Beyond making your brain more sharp and focused, recent studies have shown that working on your spatial awareness and coordination can offer huge, long-term benefits to our brain health – reducing the risk of degenerative diseases. 

Of course, the psychological benefits of exercise are well-known. Movement doesn’t just make us physically fitter; just 10 minutes of exercise a day can help to support our mental health and mood. And it seems that ballet-style exercises are particularly useful for helping us stay mentally sharp.

“Ballet and hybrid workouts boost our muscles to release myokines (muscle-based proteins) in the brain which not only contribute to cognitive health but also play an important role in our mental wellbeing,” Vignola explains.

“The way ballet movements make our muscles contract and release creates a rush of myokines that can have a positive effect on mood and depressive symptoms.”

Arguably, one of the most valuable benefits of barre classes is that they can allow us to engage in ballet in a more inclusive, body-positive way. Some of us who had ballerina aspirations as children may have painful memories of being body-shamed in dance classes, but barre prides itself on being open to all.

If, like us, you’ve loved watching Center Stage back in the day, you know how a ballet class goes: plier, demi-plier, grand-plier, arabesque and so on. But beyond the French repertoire, piano notes and leotards, ballet can also be defined by a specific structure that blends strength, control and flexibility. Combine that structure techniques with moves from pilates or yoga and you’ve got yourself a hybrid ballet workout that benefits both your body and mind. 

These are the hybrids you need to know about.

Ballet fit

If the idea of ballet both entices and scares you, then ballet fit may be right for you. Normally taught by former ballet dancers, it’s a full-body workout that breaks things down into upper and lower-body moves.

Eloise Skinner, author and ballet teacher at the London Dance Academy explains: “In ballet fit, you typically start on the lower body, working your way through basic ballet positions to stretch the feet, externally rotate the legs, and work on hip mobility. In my classes, l also include some type of core and floor work, as well as traditional ballet moves like pliés. 

“The fitness element of the class comes with pulses during holds and the occasional involvement of props, which help stir away from the ballet stereotypes that often intimidate people.”

Skinner notes that although those agonising pulses might be great for fostering mental resilience, the workout’s reliance on traditional ballet techniques are just as relevant for brain health: “With ballet fit, you still get the immersive mental experience that comes with ballet. Through the long sequences, repetition and graceful movements, you work on your spatial awareness and memory recall. This type of class also nurtures body alignment, which mentally allows you to feel strong, grounded and confident in a powerful way.” 

Floor barre

Floor barre is a low-impact workout done –  you guessed it – on the floor. It derives from the warm-up and cool-down section of typical ballet classes, where the focus is kept on flexibility and alignment.

Nina Thilas-Mohs, a London-based floor barre instructor, tells Stylist: “Ballet techniques are still involved, but because you get to do them on the floor, you feel your body work in a different way without the pressure of gravity. This method was originally developed by Zena Rommett to help with dance rehabilitation and injury prevention, but beyond the physical aid for your joints, there are also brain benefits to it.”

Over her years as a pupil and teacher, she’s noticed that working on flexibility can help to “reduce stress, boost neural connection and promote emotional balance.

“And because you also increase blood flow, the class gives an added boost of serotonin to the brain that allows students to ease into their bodies more easily.”  

Barre

Perhaps the popular version of all three, barre merges ballet, pilates and yoga techniques to create a low-impact strength workout. And while not all barre classes are created equal, those run by professional dancers, such as Katy Reynolds from Your Barre Studio are carefully infused with elements of ballet to nurture your joints and your brain.

“Barre is a smart synergy of strength, mobility and mindfulness. The idea here is to isolate muscle groups, then lengthen and exhaust them individually,” she tells Stylist. “But while barre also uses plenty of other techniques, there’s an isometric ballet element to it that allows people to activate muscles in a way they haven’t before.”

Emma Fenny, a 33-year-old London-based PR and avid barre student, has experienced its brain benefits first hand: “I practise barre three-to-five times a week at BarreCore, and I can say it has really helped stimulate my brain. I’m more focused and calm and overall feel more equipped to manage my day-to-day stress.”

Sounds like a great excuse to crack out the ballet flats to us. 

Images: Getty